British workers are amongst the unhappiest in the world, report claims

Coworking provider Mindspace has announced the UK findings of its global work culture survey, which polled 5000 employees across Europe and the US. On the UK side, the survey covered 1000 employees from across the country. In what the report claims is a dramatic wake-up call for UK employers, the survey revealed that around one-quarter of British workers are unhappy in the workplace and looking to change their situations. This places the UK at the end of the line up in workplace happiness among the other countries surveyed. UK workers rated only 73 percent on the report’s happiness index, compared to 81 percent in Germany and 93 percent in the US.

Other key findings from the survey found that of the UK workers surveyed:

• 24 percent are unhappy in their job situation
• 15 percent feel no sense of purpose in their job
• 25 percent do not feel valued in their workplace
• 40 percent lack any workplace flexibility
• 12 percent look forward to their vacation more than anything else
• 23 percent do not identify with or feel engaged in their company
• 14 percent resent or do not want to participate in company activities

The authors suggest that there is a great deal of room for improvement on the part of UK employers. For example, 45 percent of UK employers offer no workplace wellness activities whatsoever – compared only to 13 percent of employers in the US, which is at the top of the employee happiness scale.

In the UK, as in other countries, the survey found that happy employees are simply better employees. The survey demonstrated that workplace flexibility is one of the keys to employee happiness, and flexible working hours or a work-from-home option are perceived as the perks with the most value by British workers and those from around the world.

“This survey should be an eye-opener for UK workplaces, especially given its sheer extent and depth,” noted Dan Zakai, CEO and co-founder of Mindspace. “We have discovered that employee happiness is a hugely significant factor for every UK business, with employee engagement rates double the size of those who aren’t happy at work. We believe that employee happiness in the workplace should be a focal element for businesses as happier employees mean better retention rates, greater engagement and a more collaborative work environment.”